Strategic Foresight

The global economy and society have become more interconnected and complex, causing increased uncertainties about the future. Strategic foresight is a structured and systematic approach of exploring plausible futures to anticipate and better prepare for change.

Strategic foresight is not about predicting a single future. It is about the analysis of plausible futures, which can support better policy making. Rather than making predictions based on linear extrapolation of past and current trends, foresight cultivates the capacity to anticipate alternative futures and an ability to imagine multiple and non-linear possible consequences.

Strategic foresight helps policy makers improve the effectiveness of governments by identifying opportunities, challenges, risks and disruptions that may arise over the coming years.

The OECD has long been a champion of strategic foresight and long-term thinking as a core component of effective and modern policy making. ​

There has been a growing awareness that the tendency to discount plausible futures not only reduces economic performance, threatens the environment and undermines national capabilities, it also leaves economies and societies vulnerable to unexpected shocks and limits their ability and preparedness for policy response.  

Preceded by the INTERFUTURES project and the International Futures Programme, the Strategic Foresight Unit was established in 2013 to deepen and mainstream foresight across policy areas the OECD covers and to support the strengthening of foresight capacity in governments. ​

In the 2014 OECD Ministerial Council Meeting, members’ mandate to strengthen OECD's strategic foresight capabilities further highlighted the importance of the Strategic Foresight Unit to support future preparedness within the OECD and member countries.​

The Unit operates under three objectives: 

1. Strengthen foresight capacity and practice within the OECD in order to improve policy analysis and advice.
2. Support government foresight capacity by leveraging networks such as the OECD Government Foresight Community (GFC).
3. Bring foresight to bear on OECD priorities and global policy debates.

Contact us with your questions about the Strategic Foresight Unit: Foresight@oecd.org